365 Days
by Rose Stetson
Summary: Alternate version of A Hundred Days SamJack ship NOT JackLaira ship.
1. Before the FireRain Comes

**365 Days**

**Alternate Version of "A Hundred Days"**

**Sam and Jack shippers- admit it, you SO wanted something like THIS to happen instead. (Hee hee, I did.) **

Jack O'Neill got out of his tent and stretched after a good night's sleep. It was a beautiful day on the planet, Edora. The sun was shining, the coffee was percolating and Carter was…well, Carter was carter-ing.

"Good morning, sir."

Jack smiled at his second-in-command. "Hey! How're ya doin'?"

"I'm good. How 'bout you?"

"Not bad. So, did ya get to see any of that fire-rain last night?"

She shook her head. "Laira says that it comes on the same night every year. I think it may be some kind of annual meteor shower."

"Cool."

He poured himself a cup of coffee.

"She, uh, seems to like you."

He looked at her as he took a sip from the cup. "Who?"

"Laira. She specifically requested your presence tonight."

"Well, ya can't beat that."

"Sir." She began, but stopped herself before she got further into insubordination.

"What, Carter?"

"Nothing, sir."

"Carter, I know you. You don't say anything unless it's something, so…what's up?"

"All due respect, sir. Don't you remember what happened the last time an alien woman took a shine to you?"

"Took a shine, Carter?"

She didn't even flinch. "Sir, Laira seems to be as dangerously naïve as Kynthia was. And we all know how that ended up."

"Carter, I'm a big boy. I think I can take care of myself."

She took a deep breath as she nodded, submissively. "Yes, sir."

He watched her as he took another sip of the hot coffee. She was mad at him. He hated it when she was mad at him. "Look, Carter, thanks for the warning. I think I'll watch the meteor shower from here tonight."

Suddenly, she felt foolish. "Sir, I didn't mean you had to completely isolate yourself…"

"Carter, it's not a problem. You and Daniel have fun. Teal'c and I will just hang out here."

Stop acting like a jealous lover, she scolded herself. Her one-sided feelings for her commanding officer were clouding her judgment and she had to get a grip on them. "Good. Because I refuse to leave you behind if anything like that happens again."

She closed her eyes in embarrassment as he raised an eyebrow.

"Sir." She added, hastily. Smooth, Carter…real smooth.


	2. FireRain

That night, they met Laira on the banks of the river. "Where's Jack?" She asked.

"He's…" Daniel began.

"He's worried that he won't be ready to go back to Earth tomorrow if he doesn't get a full-night's sleep tonight. Unfortunately, that means he can't see the fire-rain." Sam finished.

"Oh. And you?"

"Oh, we're used to pulling all-nighters." Daniel said, dryly.

Just then, a meteor shot through the sky. "Wow!" Sam breathed.

"In our culture, we call that a falling star. And one of our customs is to make a wish when you see one." Daniel said, looking into the sky.

"Then perhaps I should make one." Laira said, smiling.

Sam tried not to let it bother her, but inside she knew what Laira would wish for. Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight… she thought.

Oh man, I sound like I'm four years old and still believe in that stuff, she thought to herself, angrily. Why did Laira do this to her? Then again, she thought, it wasn't Laira's fault that she had fallen for her unattainable commanding officer. That he made her lose all sense of reason and logic.

She took a deep breath. For once since she had become a scientist, she was going to be superstitious. Tonight, she was going to make a wish. And she would hope with all her heart that it would come true.

Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight. She thought. Then, she closed her eyes, shutting off the noise of science that resounded in her mind. She allowed only one thought to float to the surface of her mind. I want Jack, her heart called to the starry night.

Suddenly, she saw a meteor head straight toward them. Her eyes widened as her thoughts went crazy. It was a sign. All rational thought left her mind. She was never going to be with Jack. The world would go in a fiery blaze, and that would be the end.

However, the meteor bounced off the atmosphere, and Scientist Sam returned.

"How close was that?" Daniel asked, awestruck.

"Close." She said, regaining her composure.

"I thought so. How big was that?"

"Big." She confirmed.

"I do not understand." Laira said, looking at her guests.

"Laira, that was what we call a near-miss. If the meteor hadn't bounced off the surface of your atmosphere,it would have hit the surface of your planet and destroyed quite a bit of your world. Plant and animal life included."

"But the fire-rain comes every year."

"Well, I'm going to make some more observations tonight and report my findings to Colonel O'Neill in the morning." She looked at Daniel and then took a deep breath. "But I think you should prepare your people for travel through the Stargate. We might be able to keep you at Stargate Command until things end here. If something happens and you can't come back, we'll help you relocate."

Laira's look of horror was not lost on either of them. "But this is our home!"

"We understand." Daniel answered. "But it may come down to your home or your lives."

Laira nodded, though there was a sick look in her eyes. "I understand. I will tell them."


	3. Stuck

Jack awoke the next morning to find Daniel by the coffee pot instead of Sam. "Daniel, how was the show?"

"Not good really." Daniel replied as Jack got himself a cup of coffee and sat down.

"Not good as in it doesn't compare with 4th of July fireworks?"

"Not good as in Sam thinks we should evacuate everyone to the SGC to avoid annihilation."

"Goa'uld ships?"

He shook his head. "I wish it were that easy."

Jack just raised an eyebrow.

"Sam thinks the meteor shower is going to leave a few souvenirs behind."

"Crap!"

"I know. Laira's going to try to convince her people to prepare to leave, just in case. I'm going to take a look at the geological survey and see what I can't dig up."

"Where's Carter?"

"She's off doing some calculations on her computer. Apparently, she saw five or six near-misses. It shook her up to say the least."

Jack grimaced. "Did she at least sleep at all last night?"

Daniel shook his head. "You know Sam…she swears she will when we get back to Earth, but…"

Jack waved off the rest of the archaeologist's sentence. "I got the picture." Then, he studied his friend. "How 'bout you?"

"I got a few hours of shut-eye last night."

Jack stood up. "Well, I'm off to order Carter to get some sleep. Then, I'm going to radio in and alert General Hammond to the situation. I want you to take Teal'c to do this…digging."

"Okay."

* * *

Jack approached the solitary figure of his second-in-command, hunched over a laptop at one of the tables in the square. She was muttering things to herself, typing furiously. "Carter."

She didn't even register that he had said anything, steadfastly dedicated to her work.

This time, he touched her shoulder. "Carter!"

Instantly she stopped and turned. "Oh, sir."

"What've we got?"

She returned her focus to her laptop. "As far as I can tell, a number of meteors will hit Edora over the course of the shower. I can't predict exactly when they'll hit, but I'm fairly certain that they'll hit between tonight and tomorrow night."

Jack nodded. "Okay, I want you to rest while I talk to General Hammond and Laira. We should be able to get everything taken care of by tonight."

"Sir, I'm fine."

"Carter, Daniel told me that you haven't slept. Now, you can obey my order and take a nap, or I can lace your coffee with sleeping pills. Your choice."

"Some choice." She said as she closed the laptop reluctantly and headed toward her tent. Before going inside, she glanced back at him.

"Don't make me come and make sure you're asleep." He warned.

She gave him a half-hearted chuckle and went into the tent as he walked toward the Stargate.

* * *

Laira approached Jack as he finished pleading the Edorans case as refugees. "General, Carter thinks that a couple of these meteors are gonna hit the planet by tomorrow night; Daniel's doing a geological survey to see if this has happened before. But they're both recommending an almost immediate evacuation of the natives, sir, and I have to agree with them."

"Very well, Colonel. Keep me posted, but until then, we'll get the infirmary and multi-purpose room ready for our guests. Hammond out."

As the wormhole disengaged, Jack turned to find Laira standing behind him. "Hi!"

"Fair day."

"Whatcha need?"

"I wish for you to join me as I warn my people of the danger."

"You know, I'm not so sure that'll work. There are a few of your people who are a little suspicious of us. Me particularly. I think it would be best if you delivered this news yourself."

She considered this for a moment. "Do you find me unattractive, Jack?"

Her question caught him by surprise. "What? No…you're beautiful…it's just…"

"You love her." She answered wisely.

He was silent with shock. "Who?" He asked when he finally got his voice back.

"Samantha Carter." She said with a sad smile. "It is in your eyes when you look at her. I am sorry for any challenges I have placed in your relationship."

Jack just watched her leave to warn her people. However, he was rooted to his spot. Was he really that transparent?

This thought didn't leave him even after her found the strength to continue on toward the cavern that Teal'c and Daniel had gone to explore. Inside, he found Daniel muttering to himself, much like Carter had been doing. "There's a pattern, so it's not just a random occurrence."

"How's it going, Daniel?"

"Well, pretty well…these lines happen every so often and it represents about one hundred and fifty years. Now, if you take a look up here, you'll see it kind of stops."

Jack looked at Daniel. "And?"

"Jack, it's time for the next line."

Jack still looked confused.

"Each line represents a forceful compression brought on by something like an earthquake…or a meteor."

"This must be where the ancestors stayed in the midst of the fire-rain." Sean, Laira's teenaged son said in awe.

"Well, that's cool, but now I have all the proof that I need. Come on, we're evacuating now."

They hiked back to the town square where Laira met them. "You were right. There are some who do not agree with your suggestion to evacuate."

"But?" The Colonel prompted.

"I have managed to convince them that perhaps the stories of our ancestors were not simply stories, but words of warning. We shall be ready to depart within the hour."

"Good." Jack said, clapping one hand on Laira's shoulder. "Go get ready. We'll take it from here."

Just then, a meteor shot past them, obviously surface-bound.

"All right, Daniel- evacuation just lost an hour. Take Laira and go to the Gate. Carter, Teal'c and I will send everyone your way."

A mass of people ran toward the Stargate in panic. "Okay, change of plans. Daniel, take Teal'c and Laira. Carter and I'll catch up."

Daniel and Teal'c nodded, hurrying to the Stargate.

"Thank you for your concern." Laira said before running off after them.

* * *

Jack raced off to Sam's tent instead. "Carter! Wake up!"

She popped her head out of the tent. "What? Morning already?"

"More like moving day. Those meteors started coming about ten minutes ago. I've seen two or three already."

She jumped out of the tent, grabbing her laptop and gear. "Let's go, sir."

They arrived at the Stargate in time to see the last Edoran family go through the Gate. Daniel, Teal'c and Laira were still there, thought Laira was distressed. "Have you seen Sean?"

All four members of SG-1 shook their heads.

"He's probably in the cavern. You know, he was so excited that he'd found the place where the ancestors had hidden during the fire-rain." Daniel said, quickly.

"I'll go get him." Jack said. "Carter, you're with me. I might need a hand with him if he needs medical attention. Daniel, Teal'c…take Laira through. We'll dial out when the shower passes."

They all nodded, though Laira began to protest. "I need to…"

Daniel and Teal'c firmly gripped her arms and led her through the Stargate. The wormhole shut down almost immediately after they stepped through.

* * *

After a half an hour on the other side of the Gate, Laira's teenaged son greeted her. "Mother!"

As they embraced, she turned a worried gaze toward Daniel, who looked at the control room. "Dial Edora!" He yelled.

"Dr. Jackson, what's going on?" General Hammond asked.

"Sam and Jack are still there, looking for a teenaged boy. They don't know that he's here!"

"Do it." Hammond ordered the technician.

He typed in the coordinates quickly and the Stargate began to spin. "Chevron 1 encoded. Chevron 2 encoded. Chevron 3 encoded…"

As each symbol engaged, Daniel suddenly had the terrible thought race through his mind- seemingly on loop: what if a meteor had hit the Stargate?

Suddenly, the voice of the technician changed to include a note of panic. "Chevron 7 won't engage."


	4. Predicament

"Sir, there's no one here." Sam said as they searched the cavern for the second or third time.

"Yeah, I noticed. Let's go."

"Sir, we can't go. The meteors are still bombarding the surface. We're safer in here."

"Carter!" He grumbled.

"Sir, trust me. We'll still be able to dial home when we reach the Stargate. But I can't guarantee that we'll reach the Gate if we leave now."

"And if the Gate's buried?" He asked.

"Well, let's just hope that's not the case." She said, shrugging as she tried to appear more confident than she really was.

The meteors seemed to stop showering on the ground a few days after they had begun. "So, Carter, it's safe, right?"

She took a deep breath. "I think so, sir."

"You think so?"

"Well, we haven't felt any tremors for about eight hours. I would assume that it's safe."

"Well, then…to Kansas!"

She grinned. "Yes, sir."

They stepped out of the cave and squinted at the bright sunlight that attacked their eyes. On their way to the Stargate they passed a lot of debris where formerly picturesque houses once stood. "It's too bad that they won't have houses to come back to." Sam said, eyeing the damage.

"I'm just glad that Laira was able to convince them to go through the Stargate." Jack said, looking ahead.

"Yeah. I guess we'll be sending some SG teams to help rebuild."

"Yep." He said, curtly.

"Sir? Is there a problem?"

He looked at her. "Why?"

"You seem…a little short-fused today."

"Nah, I'm fine. Just…kinda touchy about the fact that we spent all of that time in that cave looking for a kid who…" He stopped. "Carter, this IS where the Stargate was, right?"

She looked around the crater. "Yes, sir. It is."

"And we DID hope that nothing would happen to the Stargate, didn't we?"

"Not hard enough, sir."

"So, what now?" He asked, more of himself than of her.

"My suggestion would be to find supplies and shelter from the village- basic survival first. Then, we worry about the Stargate."

Jack nodded. "That's just what I was going to say. After all, the SGC will undoubtedly contact our allies. A couple days or weeks, and we'll be home."

"Actually, sir…"

He gave her a look that told her that he really didn't want to know. But she continued anyway. "It might take up to a year before our allies can reach us."

"Well…we've been in this predicament before. Just with a lot more ice, injuries and less supplies."

She bit her lip, nervously.

"What?"

"Well, it's not exactly the same situation. First of all, there was a stargate there. If I'd just realized that we might have been on Earth, we could have dialed to another planet, say the Land of Light- and we could have gotten home. And once they realized that we were on Earth…"

"Carter!"

She stopped. "Sorry sir."

"You know, you said something last time that would be appropriate to throw in here. You think way too much!"

She nodded. "Yes, sir. I do."

"Now, let's go see what's left of the town. Okay?"


	5. Trying to Gate Home

As they explored the town, they realized that there were still a few houses that were habitable. There were even clothes, food and other supplies that they could use. "Well, this is good luck!" Jack said, smiling.

"Yes, sir. More luck than I was expecting." She said, looking around one of the cottages. "Sir, if you don't mind, I'd like to stay in this house."

He shrugged. "Why not?"

She smiled. "Thank you, sir."

"Now…when do we start digging up the Stargate?"

"Well, I guess we do that after breakfast, sir." She said with a shrug.

"Breakfast?"

"Well, there's some bread here, and if we don't eat it, it will spoil."

"Sounds good to me." He said, taking the proffered piece of bread.

He walked out of the house and walked toward the lake. "Ah, and we'll have fish for dinner!" He cried.

"What?" She asked, following him.

"Come on, Carter, you know I have a cabin in Minnesota. I go there to fish."

"Well, you fish to your heart's content. I'll keep working on getting us out of here." She said with a twinkle in her eye.

"You do that." He said, following her to the shed where she found a couple of shovels. "Here, we'll start digging."

"Carter, what happens if we find the Stargate but no DHD?"

She gulped. "Then, we dial home manually."

"Two words: power source."

She turned to him, the teasing mood gone. "Sir, we can keep thinking about all the flaws in this plan, or we can do something to get us home."

Jack took a deep breath. "Okay. Then, we go."

* * *

It had been two weeks, and they had kept digging for the Stargate, living off fish and the few vegetables and fruits that were left behind by the inhabitants of the town. Carter had lived in one cottage, and Jack in one that was fairly close in proximity. But Jack was starting to notice that Sam was becoming somewhat obsessed with returning back to Earth.

"Carter, it's time for dinner."

"I'll be there in a little while, sir." She said, digging.

"Carter, you're working too hard. They've probably already realized that they can't contact us. Undoubtedly, they've contacted the allies and there's a ship on its way to rescue us. Besides, you said that you'd be here in a little while about three hours ago. You can't keep working without lights."

She looked up and saw him standing beside a fire a little ways off. She begrudgingly approached him. "Sorry, sir."

"'Sokay, Carter. Just don't let it happen again. We're on an alien planet. One would think that you would at least pretend to slow down without doohickeys to study."

She was silent as she took the grilled fish from him.

"You okay?"

She took a bite of the fish. "I'm sorry, sir. It's just…"

"Just that you're tired of having no doohickeys and the proverbial company of a grouchy commanding officer?"

"Something like that, sir." She said with a tired smile.

"You sure you're okay?"

She nodded, though she only took a couple more bites of the fish before she stood up. "I think I'm going to turn in. It's been a long couple weeks."

Then, she walked toward the square while he watched her. There was something bothering her, and he didn't know what.


	6. In Sickness and In Health

The sweat that beaded her forehead glistened in the midday sun. She was feverishly working on unburying the Stargate as she had for the last six weeks.

"Carter! I got lunch ready!"

She turned. He had been fishing since early that morning, and had caught something. It was pretty routine for him to catch and clean the fish that they would have for the day in the morning and for him to join her in the afternoon.

She walked down to the little make-shift work tent that they had. "Thanks, Jack." She said as she accepted the grilled fish and sat down to eat it.

Jack looked up from his own lunch. "That's sir to you." He said, instinctively.

She pursed her lips and looked defiantly into his eyes. "We're on a planet that is cut off from Earth in every way possible. I am NOT going to call you 'sir.'"

"Carter…" He warned.

"It's Sam."

"Carter, we're going to be rescued. You're going to think of some way that we can get through to Earth. Or they're going to send one of our allies to find us."

"I don't know how much longer they're going to hold out hope for us, Jack."

"Carter, I am still your commanding officer!"

"No, Jack! You're not. Because as of right now, I resign!" She yelled as she stood up, throwing her fish into the fire.

He offered her his own plate. "Sit down and eat the fish."

"No." She said, stubbornly.

"That's an order."

She gritted her teeth and then limped back out to the clearing where she was digging for the Stargate.

"Carter!"

She didn't answer.

He caught up to her. "What happened to your leg?"

"Nothing for you to concern yourself with, SIR." She said, curtly.

"Carter!"

As she reached the place where her shovel lay, she bent down to get it. She stood up, only to get dizzy and start faltering. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her sight, but her attempts were in vain.

"Carter…" He said, just before she collapsed into his arms.

--

He hurried and got her to the tent, feeling her pulse as he went. It was weak and erratic. "Carter…hang on for me! We're both going to get rescued."

He laid her on the table, clearing off the few tools that had been lying there. He felt her forehead. She was burning up. For the first time in six weeks, he wished that they had had the conveniences of modern medicine- not to mention ol' Doc Fraiser.

He looked down the road. Carter's house was not too far, and he could do a lot more from there than he could from here. He picked her up again, carrying her the two hundred yards or so to her house where he laid her on the bed. Now, he was going to try to figure out what was wrong with her. That was going to be fun, if she woke up while he was undressing her.

He pulled her jacket and boots off, then eyed her pants. He was going to have to cut them off of her. With her limp, it was safe to assume that part of her left leg was tender, so he took a deep breath and began cutting the cloth of her AF regulation uniform. Sure enough, the lower half of her left leg was one big bruise. He lifted up her leg to find a deep, infected cut that ran the length of her calf, covered by a badly wrapped strip of cloth. "Great."

It must have happened when she fell down that slope, he thought to himself. He thought she had cried out, but she told him that it was the birds that flew by frequently. She had favored the leg on the way back to her house, but within hours, she was back to work, digging up the Stargate.

He reached for the medical kit. Nothing in there was good enough for such a deep and infected wound.

The wood in the fire crackled, and he turned to find an iron poker-like device. He looked back at Sam, who was so feverish that she wasn't waking up from her faint.

"Please forgive me, Carter." He whispered. "I'm going to have to cauterize this."

Of course there was no response, and he wasn't exactly surprised. However, he was still somewhat hesitant about the procedure. What did he think he was doing? He could easily damage her leg beyond repair. He didn't know how to do this. For all he knew, he could be making it worse.

However, when faced with total seclusion on a planet that wasn't even his home world, he decided that it couldn't get any worse than this. He rolled Sam over onto her side, then reached for the poker.

--

Back at the SGC, Daniel was still frantically searching for a way to get them home. They had been declared MIA, and he was determined to get them home Even if he had to burn all of the bridges in London to do it.

"General Hammond, have we received any word from our allies?"

"Dr. Jackson, I have not had any word since you asked five minutes ago." He said, impatiently. "I understand that you don't want to leave Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter stranded on a deserted planet, and I don't feel too keen about the idea myself. However, we both need to face the fact that if the Stargate was hit by a meteor, then they are probably dead."

Daniel stood, stunned, in the Briefing room as General Hammond retreated back to his office. This was worse than the time they had been stranded in Antarctica. At least then, they were able to send help by way of helicopter. This time, they couldn't send any help for the time being.

--

Jack bustled around the tiny cottage, boiling water, cooking and cleaning. He quickly found one of the native women's cookbooks, in which he found a recipe for bread. He thought back to the night that Carter had thrown his fish into the fire, and decided to perfect the art of bread baking while she recuperated. He soon found out that baking bread from scratch, beginning with grinding one's own flour, was not as easy as it looked. Not to mention that his homemade bread tasted nothing like that of his grandmother's.

In addition to his bread-baking excursions, he tried to keep Carter's temperature down with cold compresses and ice. Luckily for him, he had found a small ice house down the road from where Carter lived, and he walked there almost everyday to find the ice that he needed for the day. Finally, after two weeks of laboring over the small kitchen stove and tending to Carter's every need, he noticed a small movement out of the corner of his eye.

"Sir?" She asked weakly. Her hands touched the coarse material of hand-spun material. What was she wearing? And how had she gotten into it?

"Carter!" He said, energetically. "Nice to have you back among the living."

"I left?" She asked, with a small laugh that resulted in a racking cough. Her head was throbbing and she felt dizzy. She vaguely remembered something about a cut on her leg. It was infected, and…she couldn't remember anything after that.

"Here," he said, bringing a small cup of water over to her. He lifted her head and allowed her to sip the cool water. "Better?"

She nodded, as she closed her eyes in exhaustion. "What happened?"

"You got a cut. It got badly infected, and you passed out from the fever. I kinda took over from there."

She opened her eyes and looked around the small cottage. "We're not in the infirmary, are we?"

"Nope."

She swallowed as she closed her eyes again.

"Take it easy. You've been feverish for the last couple of weeks. You've been in and out of consciousness."

She nodded, closing her eyes as she drifted back to sleep.

He was pleased. She hadn't ever been quite strong enough to carry on a conversation. He took this as a sign of tremendous progress. But for now, he'd let her sleep until she was ready to continue living life among the living.

--

"Dr. Jackson, may I have a word?" General Hammond asked.

"Yes, sir."

"It's been two months since we've heard from Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill. It's time that I assigned a new commander and a fourth member of SG-1. In the meantime, it's clear that the Edorans won't be returning to their planet anytime soon, since our allies have no ships available at the moment. I'd like you and Teal'c, along with SG-7, to coordinate their relocation."

"But, General…" Daniel began.

"Son, I know you want to find your missing teammates. However, my hands are tied. The Pentagon and the President want the SGC to return to normal Gate operations. That means no more teams going off in search of transportation to Edora."

"Jack and Sam single-handedly have both saved this planet more times than…"

"I know, son. But I have to concede defeat on this one. Jacob's going to keep looking into getting a small cargo ship, but I cannot continue expelling the resources of this facility to find two officers who are most likely dead."

"But…"

"Son, I think we can both trust Jacob to get our people back safely. It is, after all, his daughter that's marooned on this planet."

--

"What's that smell?" Sam asked, as she awoke.

"Bread." Was Jack's simple reply.

"Bread?"

"Yep. I learned to bake bread."

She chuckled. "Colonel Jack O'Neill, USAF- occupation: housewife."

"Ha ha. Now be nice or I won't let you have any."

Her mouth started to water for the bread. "Sir…"

"I know." He said, smiling as he brought the slice of bread to her. "I thought you might want some of this."

She tasted it. "You're good."

"Why, thank you, Carter."

"Sam." She whispered.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, sir."

"You want me to call you Sam?"

She nodded, savoring the bread again. "Sir, you make a mean broth, but…I have to tell you: this bread is good stuff."

"Colonel Jack O'Neill- gourmet chef at your service!"

"I'll be sure to tell General Hammond about your talents."

He smiled. "Oh, great. I'll be transferred off SG-1 to the commissary staff."

"Which of course begs the question…" She began.

"What question?" He asked, confused.

"Can you make pie?"

* * *

_I know this seems a little disjointed, but I'm trying to run through several weeks of Sam's recuperation with little repetition. I'm also trying to show that General Hammond's hands are tied and that he's trying to do the best he can without defying orders._


	7. Life Moves On

Sam's leg was still giving her trouble a few weeks later. She'd healed in every other way, but she couldn't seem to walk long distances without the limp returning.

"Sam, let's try a crutch. Maybe it'd give your leg the amount of support it needs."

She nodded. "At this point, I'm willing to try anything."

Jack nodded as he went out to find a suitable piece of wood. Meanwhile, she limped around the kitchen, trying to perfect her own cooking techniques. She didn't mind the mental stimulus provided by the guess and check system of cooking curriculum that she was experiencing. Of course, Jack's experiences with bread-baking had helped her in that department, and it had only taken her a couple of days to get the hang of it with his constant tutelage.

Now, she was venturing into the uncharted territories of stews and soups. Jack had begun setting traps for some of the small land animals around- rabbits, squirrels, and other Earth-like creatures.

They still hadn't resolved the issue of what they would call one another. It had been three months according to Jack's calculations, and Sam could tell that Jack's faith in a rescue was waning. Of course, every time she attempted to discuss their situation, he would simply try to assure her that there was a rescue attempt as they spoke, and that she was worrying for nothing. But he got a certain look in his eyes when he was unsure about something. It was there every time he mentioned a rescue now.

He walked into the house, carrying a sack of vegetables and a large stick. "I'll smooth it down so you can use it." He said, setting the vegetables down on the table. He pulled out his AF regulation knife and began cutting away at the wood. The tediousness of the task would have driven Sam crazy, but she could tell that Jack appreciated the simple art of woodworking.

"You look like you know what you're doing." She noted, cutting up some tomato-like fruit.

"My grandfather taught me how to whittle as a kid. Kept me outta trouble."

She raised her eyebrows in interest. "Really?"

"He and I were really close. My cabin in Minnesota was passed down to me from him when he died."

"Wow."

"You know, growing up in Chicago, I didn't really appreciate nature."

"You didn't?" She asked, somewhat surprised.

"No. It was the summers with my grandfather in Minnesota that really helped me appreciate all kinds of things about nature."

"Like fishing." She inferred.

"And hunting and hiking."

"Wow."

Jack smiled. "Yeah. He was great."

"Jack?"

He looked up. "Carter…"

"We need to talk about this." She reminded him.

"We're still in the same chain of command. It's sir and Carter."

"No."

"That's insubordination, Major."

"Listen, while we're trapped here, let's just be friends. We act like that most of the time anyway. Hell, we're practically living together while I recover."

Jack considered this for a moment. "All right. Fine. It's Jack and Sam."

She nodded. "Okay."

They lapsed back into silence. "So, what's for dinner?"

She smiled. "A surprise."

"Really?"

"Yep. I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will."

She smiled as she continued cutting up the vegetables. "I'm sure you will too."

She put the tomatoes into a pot, boiling them and harvesting the juice. As she did so, she added some of the native spices.

"Is it spaghetti?"

"Later, Jack."

"Aw, come on. Just a little tiny, itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny hint?" He asked, setting down the crutch and leaning over the table.

She chuckled. "It's driving you crazy, isn't it?"

"Hey, I never was one for surprises."

"Well, then, you'll have to learn to appreciate them."

"Why?"

She brought up the wooden spoon that she had stirred the sauce with and put it to her lips. "Because. I. Said. So."

"Aw, come on, Samantha. You know you want to tell me." He said with a puppy dog face.

She wished she could say that she was impervious to the charms of the puppy dog look, but alas, she caved. "I'm making pizza. It's a vegetarian. It won't taste exactly…"

"Then, I guess I'll have to find us some beer." He said, silencing her. He grinned as he walked out of the house.

She gritted her teeth. Now he knew that he could get her with that simple look. She was so weak!

--

Jack sat on the grass by the creek, thinking. Three and a half months on this planet and not a sign of a rescue. They had wasted the first two and a half months on creating their own way home, but once Carter had gotten sick…

Jack closed his eyes. He didn't know what he would have done if she had died. He probably would have gone crazy, living like a wild man. At whatever point there was a rescue, he would have been unrecognizable.

But Carter followed orders. Every last one of them. Even orders not to die.

"Jack!" She called.

He turned to see her standing outside the cottage, one hand on her crutch. It had helped her tremendously, both physically and emotionally. It had been hard for her to stay in the house. Within the first few days of getting the crutch, she began to visit the homes nearby to get other supplies.

He remembered the day that he had told her that he had dressed her in the clothes of the natives. It was easier to dress her in the skirt and top, and he had needed to easily access the wound.

"_You what?"_

"_Carter, I was, in essence, your doctor!"_

"_That doesn't change anything. You still changed my clothes!"_

"_I didn't see anything!"_

_She rolled her eyes. "You're unbelievable."_

"_What? You needed help. That leg was so badly infected that I was afraid you would lose it. And sadly for us, we didn't have ol' Doc Fraiser to handle the…intimate details of the job."_

_Her blue eyes flashed with anger as she folded her arms and turned so that she wouldn't have to look at him._

"_Carter…I…"_

"_Leave me alone."_

_He closed his eyes as he brought his hands up to cover them. As he let them return to his side, he let out the air trapped in his lungs and mouth. "Carter, I'm sorry. But there was no way in hell that I was going to let you die!"_

_There was no response and he walked out of the house, confused and somewhat angry._

"Jack!"

"Yeah?" He called back.

"Come inside! I have a surprise!"

He lifted up the three fish he had on a string. "Me too!"

He arrived back at her cottage five minutes later. "You know, we should really take advantage of this beautiful weather. I'll grill the fish and you bring your surprise. We'll have a picnic dinner."

"Okay." She agreed.

"Sam," He began.

"Yes?"

"I've been thinking."

"Getting tired of the charade?" She asked with a smile.

He took a breath while giving her his signature confused look.

"What have you been thinking about?" She asked, realizing that he didn't understand.

"Oh, you know, just stuff."

"Really?"

He chewed the flesh on the inside of his cheek. "I never really was one…I mean, I never really told you…"

"What, Jack?" She asked, concerned.

There was a long pause. "Sam, I never really told you how I would've felt if you had…not…"

"If I had died?" She finished, tenderly.

He took a step toward her, now only a foot away from her. "We're probably not going to be rescued…anytime soon, anyway…"

"You may certainly be right about that." She agreed. "We're probably already missing, presumed dead."

"Well, I was wondering…can we…consider this…picnic…our first…"

"Date?"

"You're right, it's stupid. I shouldn't have…"

She kissed him soundly, successfully interrupting him.

"That's…in-sub-ord-in…" He trailed off.

"I'm not hearing any complaints." She said before she continued kissing him.

He was practically catatonic when she released him from the kiss. "Hmmm?"

Sam smiled. "Grab the basket. It's all ready. I'll grab the blanket."

"Uh huh." Jack said, still waiting for something…more.

--

They reached a clearing not too far from the cottage where Jack set the picnic basket down and Sam handed him the blanket, which he spread out on the ground. They sat down and Sam reached for the basket. "Grilled fish for the entrée, a nice homegrown salad for the side dish, and…cake for dessert."

Jack looked up. "Cake?"

"Uh huh."

"Why?"

"For your birthday." She replied with a smile.

"It's my birthday?"

"Yep. It's August 14, by Earth's standards."

He looked genuinely surprised. "Really? Thanks for remembering."

She smiled, "Well, when you have the house to yourself, it's kind of easy to let things float into your mind. Your birthday was one of those things."

"So…this cake…"

"Is a spice cake…"

"Spice? Okay…let's see how this cake turned out." He said, reaching for the basket.

She tapped him lightly on the hand. "Not until after the fish and salad."

"Aw, come on, Sam. It's my birthday!"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Didn't your mother ever tell you that dessert came after dinner?"

He shrugged. "I never really listened to my mother." He said, in a falsely innocent voice.

"Uh huh…after dinner."

He folded his arms, pouting. "Fine."

Sam giggled. Jack O'Neill was pouting! He was throwing a temper tantrum, just like her nephew, Jason, had done at the age of five.

"Would you stop acting like a five-year-old?"

"Why should I?"

"Because I don't give in to spoiled children…" She said, with a grin.

He instantly sat up and reached for a plate of fish. "Wait a minute, birthday boy. Make a wish." She said, a piece of cake on the plate in her hand.

He closed his eyes, and began to wish. He just wanted another one of those kisses.

As she watched him, she prepared a forkful of cake which she was prepared to feed him. That kiss had been liberating, and she had realized that the attraction wasn't only one-sided. Perhaps her wish from three and a half months ago was actually going to be fulfilled.

He opened his eyes and as he did so, she placed the morsel of cake into his mouth and he smiled. "It's good. You should try it."

She raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

He nodded, and reached for the fork. He took another bite, then kissed her. Yes, that cake was one of the best she had ever made.

--

Daniel, Teal'c, Colonel Makepeace, and Major Ferretti stood in the Gate Room, ready to embark on their next mission. "SG-1, you have a go!" General Hammond said to the four team members.

"All right. Let's go." Makepeace said to his new team. "Ferretti, you take point."

Ferretti walked through the event horizon.

"Jackson, Teal'c…you're next."

Daniel eyed the new commander, wearily, before stepping through the event horizon with Teal'c.

Makepeace looked up toward General Hammond and saluted before entering the event horizon himself.

Major General George Hammond watched the new team with a certain amount of anguish. This was the end of an era. SG-1 was their front-line team not just because of the quality of the people he had on the team, but also because of the bonds that those people had forged with one another. He could already tell that there was a certain amount of distrust between the two original members of SG-1 and their new commander.

They had no quarrel with Ferretti; he had worked with them both at the beginning of the command, and while they certainly didn't always see eye-to-eye, there was a mutual respect between them that was a consequence of the men working together, or rather fighting together, for their very lives.

But Makepeace on the other hand…well, he could be just as sardonic as Jack had been, but instead of the underlying respect that Jack had for both of his people, Makepeace had a certain…je ne sais quois. It was as if he feared them- he was understandably intimidated by Dr. Jackson's intellect, and Teal'c was not a man to toy with, but...while Jack had been somewhat intimidated by both, they had found value in their differences. Makepeace was still learning to do that.

He sighed and watched as the wormhole disengaged. He really wished that Sam and Jack were safe, and that they would be brought back to the SGC in due time. Of course, 'in due time' should have been three months ago, but…one could never really be picky. Just as long as they returned safely- hopefully back to the command, but…again, no one could ever really be picky. Especially with those two.

--

Sam awoke to feel the coolness of the breeze caressing her body. As she looked up to find the stars shining, she felt an arm slide across her waist, and she smiled. There were few places in the universe where one could make love in the moonlight, and a deserted planet was the best choice.

"Hey," She whispered, softly. Unsure of whether or not she really wanted to wake him up. His silvering hair reflected the moonlight, and she grinned. This was her man. One-hundred-percent. It was just the two of them on this beautiful planet. Like Adam and Eve.

She found immense pleasure in that thought.

"Hey." His deep voice replied as his grip on her waist tightened.

"Cold?" She asked.

"A little chilly, but who's complaining?"

"Not me."

His brown eyes looked into her blue ones before he nuzzled into his neck, caressing it with soft kisses. "You know, come to think of it, I think we could use a little more body heat."

"Your wish is my command, birthday boy." She said before complying to his request.

--

The next morning, she awoke without the comfort of Jack's arms around her. She sat up, looking around her. "Jack?"

There was no answer as she got up and reached for her crutch. She grabbed the blanket and folded it. Then, she placed it on top of the contents of the basket, and hung it on her arm. She walked the long, hard walk back toward the cottage, expecting to find Jack there. As she took each step, she struggled to keep the basket on her arm, and found it difficult not to think of times when walking- no, running- had been no strain. She had run six or seven miles without breaking a sweat before, but since her injury, she had barely been able to walk one or two without the pain becoming so excruciating that she had to stop.

She finally reached the cottage and walked inside, placing the basket onto the table. "Jack?"

Again there was no answer, and by now, she was getting worried. She shook her head, trying to shake the worries. "He's probably just fishing," she told herself.

She gritted her teeth at the thought of walking all the way down to the creek. It was frustrating for her to admit that she was, for all intents and purposes, disabled. Therefore, she was unable to walk some of the previously insignificant distances.

She looked out the door and down toward the creek. It was another few hundred yards to the creek. She tried to see if she could see Jack, but she couldn't. They hadn't explored many other areas around the town since they had been stranded there. They spent time at the crater left from the meteor that had buried the Stargate, the creek, the cottage, the town, and obviously the field just outside of town. Perhaps he had wanted to take some time away from her to think about things.

She sighed. She had become a burden. She was not as independent as she had been for her entire life, and now, when she needed someone the most, she had burdened the one person she would never have wanted to burden.

She sat in the chair by the window, longing to have some comfort. To talk to her dad, and have him tell her that she was still every bit as wonderful as she had been before her injury. But she had the sinking feeling that since she was no longer eligible for a military post, that even his judgment of her would change.

She let the tears roll down her cheeks softly. Last night had been so wonderful. She had felt so beautiful and feminine, but…she had failed to live up to his expectations. And now, he was gone.

--

Jack was sitting in the cavern, thinking about all of the things that had transpired in the last twenty-four hours. He had taken advantage of his second-in-command. And for that, he felt ashamed. She was his friend. But she was also the only other person on this planet with him.

That was no excuse for the way he had behaved. Even a teenager would have been more conscientious than he had been.

But for a few hours, as he held her, all seemed right in the world. There was no global or galactic conflict, the heavens were still aligned in the right space, and Samantha was in his arms. What could possibly have been better than that?

"A clear conscience." He whispered.

If they were ever rescued, they could potentially be tried for breaking Air Force fraternization regulations. As if the Stargate program wasn't under enough scrutiny. Then again, they would most likely live the rest of their lives out on Edora. Far from the enforcers of the regulations that he had allowed them to disregard. But Carter had said six months, and it had only been three and a half.

Only three and a half months. Of just him and Carter.

He pounded his fist against the rock wall. "Dammit!" He yelled. Why couldn't the Fates get at least one thing right? Why did they have to be in the same chain of command?

Suddenly, something occurred to him. She had resigned. She had very literally said: "I resign!"

Of course, she was delirious with fever when she said it, so…it wasn't a given that she still felt that way.

The throbbing in his hand began full force just then, and he closed his eyes. He just couldn't do anything right today, could he? From the fact that his hand felt like a pile of jello, he figured he had most likely broken a fistful of the bones in his hand. And with no infirmary and no Dr. Fraiser, that would be most likely debilitating. "Great." He sighed. As if they didn't have enough to worry about.

--

Makepeace, Teal'c, Ferretti, and Daniel ran through the Gate under heavy fire. "Close the iris!" Makepeace ordered.

"Do as he says." Hammond said to the Gate Technician as he walked into the Gate Room. "What happened?"

"Colonel Makepeace and the local leaders didn't get along too well." Daniel said, one eyebrow raised.

"May I ask why?"

"They wanted us to turn over our weapons." Makepeace said, confident that the General would understand.

"We were there to negotiate. There were no signs of any weapons on their end." An agitated Daniel replied.

"How can you be sure, Dr. Jackson?"

"We were taken to a room used for sorting grain…by hand." Daniel said. "It was the closest thing to a…negotiation hall that they had."

"Colonel, did you see any sign of danger?"

"One doesn't have to see any signs of danger to know that they're there." He replied.

"In the future, Colonel, I'd appreciate if you listened and gave more consideration to any advice that Dr. Jackson gives you."

"Sir, my job is to keep my team safe. If I am not allowed a weapon, I cannot complete my objective." Makepeace began.

"All I'm asking, Colonel, is that you give a little more credence to Dr. Jackson's suggestions." Hammond said, kindly.

"Yes, sir."

Daniel looked at Makepeace, in disbelief. "You nearly got us killed by refusing to give up your weapon. How does that accomplish your goal?"

"Dr. Jackson, that's enough." Hammond said, firmly.

"No, sir, I don't think so. Colonel Makepeace was not letting me do my job. Now, I was trying to initiate some diplomatic relations with the people of P4X 357. He was pushing me to include defense technologies in that agreement."

"That's part of our standing orders, Dr. Jackson." Makepeace said, clearly not seeing the point of the interrogation.

"He has a point, Dr. Jackson."

"Yes, but I'm fairly certain that our standing orders have no clauses that legalize illegal activity." Daniel said, eyeing the General.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Colonel Makepeace not only brought weapons to a negotiation with a new alien ally, but also stole some of their weapons technology."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow while General Hammond, Colonel Makepeace, and Major Ferretti looked stunned.

"I assume you can back up your charges with facts, Dr. Jackson." Makepeace challenged, one finger dangerously close to the trigger of his P-90.

"The Tok'ra approached me on our last mission to Vorash. They needed my help translating some Ancient symbols, and as I went over to the section of their base that contained their laboratory, I saw Colonel Makepeace speaking to someone over a goa'uld long-range communication device. I don't know how he got it, but I do know that these handheld devices are not standard US Air Force issue."

Hammond turned to Makepeace. "Is this true?"

"He must have gotten me confused with someone else."

"In an SG uniform?" Daniel challenged. "And maybe you can clear something else up for me. Jacob Carter stopped by. It appears that some of their tunnel crystals are missing. It happened shortly after I saw you speaking into that device. You mentioned the name 'Maybourne.'"

Makepeace moved his P-90 into its defensive position and began firing. He hit Daniel in the shoulder before the Gate Room began teeming with SFs who cocked and aimed their weapons at the irate Colonel.

"Colonel Makepeace, you're under arrest. Take him to a holding cell." General Hammond said with disgust.

"You don't know what you're doing." He said, derisively. "You think this is about making friends? This is about saving the planet, and none of you have the guts to do what needs to be done to do that."


	8. Forgiveness and Role Reversal

_For those of you who started to believe that 365 Days was not only the title but the amount of time you would have to wait for the conclusion of the saga, here is the last few chapters...enjoy! And please, don't desert this writer in her time of need...please, pretty please REVIEW!_

* * *

Sam walked around aimlessly for hours. Her leg was now protesting, but she was too worried to notice. By now, it had been over a day and a half since she had seen Jack. She was concerned, hurt, confused and a myriad of other emotions. She ended up at their makeshift excavation site. She stood for a few moments, studying it. The tent to the side was standing over a table that had been obviously cleared in a hurry. Air Force regulation equipment, Edoran tools, a few weapons, and some dishes littered the ground to the left of the table, as if someone had swept them off from right to left. No doubt this had been where Jack had done his preliminary examination of her after she had succumbed to unconsciousness.

She turned to look at the actual dig site. It disheartened her to realize that there was absolutely no evidence pointing to a buried or even remotely functional Stargate. And that wasn't even the whole problem. If they found the Stargate without the DHD, they were practically in the same problem that they had been in before, as she doubted that she and Jack together would be able to manually dial the Stargate, let alone manage to rustle enough energy to power it.

However, she loved a challenge. She took a deep breath. This was probably the craziest thing she had ever tried to do, but nevertheless, she was going to do it. She rolled up her sleeves, grabbed one of the shovels, and walked toward the crater with a renewed determination to unbury the Stargate. After all, if Jack was in trouble, she would need help to get him out of it.

Another thought struck her. As much as it pained her to admit it, perhaps he was merely avoiding her because their…actions…had made him uncomfortable. In that case, he would relish any opportunity to be around anybody but her. That was something that this planet did not easily facilitate.

But as she sat down and began digging, deeper into herself and into the ground on which she sat, she realized that part of the reason that she was so interested in this project was that she was beginning to get bored out of her mind. There were no formulas to calculate. No other planets to explore. No alien technology for her to study. She couldn't even take a long walk or go for a run. And when she got that bored, her mind went into overdrive. Suddenly, things that never would have occurred to her otherwise became almost obsessive in their importance to her.

She would do everything in her power to make Jack happy. Even if that meant that she provided him an opportunity to never see her again.

--

It was pitch black when Jack walked back into the village. His hand was throbbing and already he could see it turning a dark purple with the blood that had been rushed to the site. It was immensely swollen, and he could feel the tips of his fingers become numb. He was now so much in pain, that he didn't mind eating a little crow. He walked up to the cottage.

"Carter!" He murmured as he staggered to the door, the pain overwhelming his mind.

There was no answer, and for a moment, he was afraid that he had stumbled to the wrong cottage. However, when he glanced inside and saw the picnic basket on the table, he realized that he was not in the wrong place. But where was Carter?

He tried to remove the cloud from his mind. He would try to splint the hand himself, but it would be impossible. And at this time of night, it was impossible to try and find Carter.

An unexpected consideration jumped into his mind. Maybe she had resumed her obsessive work on freeing the Stargate from the depths of the earth that bound it. However, he was getting cold, and he grabbed the blanket from off the bed. Surely it would help to ward off the evening breeze…and whatever side-effects he was suffering due to his hand injury.

He reached the Stargate to see Sam lying, asleep, in the ground next to a hole that she had dug. She was clutching a curious piece of metal. He wished he could have seen it better- after all, the only indication that he had had that it was metallic was the fact that it was reflecting the limited moonlight.

She looked like she had been crying from the look of the mud that was pooled next her cheek. Suddenly, the pain in his hand was nothing compared to the guilt that he felt. Obviously when he left to think, he had hurt her.

"Sam…" He whispered.

She did not wake. "Sam." He tried again.

She stirred, "I told you! The Stargate is not operational!"

He stood still, startled by the frustrated sound of her tired voice. When he became conscious to the fact that she had been dreaming, he almost draped the blanket over her to leave her to her sleep. However, he realized that his hand would end up much like her leg if he waited much longer before he had her set it. "Carter!" He said, a little louder.

She jolted awake. "Sir?"

"Nice to have you back, Carter."

She looked up at him, blinking. "Is this a dream?" She asked.

"What?"

"Where the hell have you been?" She demanded, standing up. Instantly her leg protested, and she bent down to massage it.

"Uh, well…"

She stood up, instantly as intimidating as she had been before. "Well…"

"Let's go home, then we'll talk about it." He said, gritting his teeth.

Her eyes drifted to his hand, which he was quite obviously favoring. "What happened to your hand?"

"Uh…"

She took hold of his good arm and guided him firmly back to the cottage where she saw, in the soft glow of the oil lamp, the purple tint to his skin.

"What happened?" She asked, more soothingly, as she reached for it.

He grimaced. "I think I broke it."

"How?"

He looked at her somewhat sheepishly. However, the look was thwarted with the look of weakness that passed as it would over someone who was about to pass out. Instantly, she guided him to the bed where he laid down. Sure enough, in a couple of seconds, he passed out cold. For once, she was grateful. It would give her the opportunity that she needed to set his hand without him yelping in pain. She remembered her last experience binding up one of his broken bones. Needless to say, she had not wanted to relive the occasion, but one didn't get to choose the curve balls that life threw at them.

With all of the swelling it was hard for her to tell where the actual bones that needed to be set were. Thank goodness she still had a great supply of anti-inflammatory medication. It was over-the-counter ibuprofen, but it was certainly worth its weight in gold now. She reached into her bag and found the pills. He was going to need as much ibuprofen as he would get in the infirmary and so she took four of the 200 mg pills out of the bottle.

"Jack." She said, gently as she tried to shake him awake.

He managed at last to return to consciousness for a moment.

"Jack, I need you to take these. They're going to help get the swelling down so that I can make sure I'm setting the bones correctly."

He nodded somewhat deliriously, and she reached for a glass of cold water. "Here you go."

She supported his head as he swallowed the tablets. "Thanks." He said, after he swallowed.

She smiled. "You're welcome."

Almost instantly, he drifted back into unconsciousness. Over the next half an hour, she could see the inflammation go down a little in his hand. While she waited, she gathered some straight boards and some material to bind his hand.

She grimaced herself as she reached for his hand. She felt each bone, extending from his wrist- which she could almost instantly tell was broken- to his fingertips. As she did so, she could feel a couple of his bones move. It almost sickened her to realize the extent of the damage he had done to his hand. But ultimately, she was glad that he was already unconscious; this was going to hurt like hell.

--

A few hours later, Jack awoke. His hand was strangely stiff, and he looked over at it. There was a splint on it, and suddenly, he remembered breaking his hand. In a chair nearby, Sam sat, asleep.

"Sam!" He whispered, trying to get out of the bed.

She jolted. "Huh?"

"Hey." He said, smiling.

"Oh. Hi."

"Thanks." He said, raising the splinted hand.

"No problem." She said, giving him a tight smile.

"I guess we have some things to talk about."

"You always were the bright one." She replied.

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that sarcasm?"

"What do you think, Einstein?"

Jack chewed his lip for a few moments. "Sam, I know I shouldn't have just gone off…"

"Ya think?"

"Knock it off!" He finally thundered.

She looked surprised at him, but it was enough to give him a running chance at finishing his thoughts.

"Sam, I know it's no excuse, but I had to go off and think about things."

She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? Things? We're deserted on a planet that's several hundred thousand light years from Earth, and you're thinking about things?"

"Carter…" He growled.

"Continue." She gave in.

"If- and I stress if- we do get rescued, we will probably be rightly accused of breaking fraternization regulations."

She pursed her lips together, clearly fighting off some reaction.

"What?"

"Do you have ANYTHING better to do than think about frat regs?" She asked, irritated.

"Don't give me that. You've been the one who's been so anal about sticking to them anyway! I would have retired, but no…we're both needed at the SGC."

"We are!"

"And they're surviving without us, apparently."

She swallowed back tears and turned her face from him. Neither of them were entirely certain that Earth was surviving without their help, but it didn't matter, there was nothing they could do to help…at all.

"Sam…" He said, somewhat regretfully.

She turned. "I'm fine. Continue."

"Well, I realized something. While you were feverish…before you passed out, actually…you resigned."

"I know." She returned, still aggravated.

"You do?"

"Of course I do." She snapped.

"But I thought you were…I mean, you just…You came back and called me sir!" He stuttered.

"Because that's what you wanted me to do."

Jack was now thoroughly confused. "I really don't understand anything that's going on right now."

She took a deep breath. "Even if I hadn't resigned, do you really think the Air Force would take someone like me back into the service?"

"Of course!" He said in a heartbeat. "You're strong, brave, brilliant, beautiful…"

"Crippled." She added, nonchalantly.

He looked at her. "What?"

"Oh come on, you don't expect me to believe that you forgot? I can't meet the physical requirements of being an Air Force field officer."

He looked at her leg, which she had begun massaging, the pain becoming more intense with each barb she threw in Jack's general direction.

"I…I didn't realize that."

"You didn't? I did."

Jack looked at his hand again. "Chances are I'll get a medical discharge too. I mean, if we ever get out of here."

She had been about to cry, when instead of tears, laughter erupted from her.

"What?"

She couldn't stop laughing long enough to explain. The fact that he was mourning the loss of his grip on his P-90 when they had a small chance of rescue at all, was suddenly remarkably amusing.

"Carter!"

"I'm sorry, Jack. I just…you're upset because you can't hold your P-90, aren't you?"

He mumbled something that sounded something like 'So?'

She shook her head in amusement. "I can't believe you!"

"Hey! It's not funny."

"You're afraid they'll discharge you because of a wrist and hand injury?" That led her into another peal of giggles.

"Major, no giggling."

She wrapped her fingers around her mouth, trying unsuccessfully to control her giggles.

Jack shook his head, and let a small laugh escape his own mouth. If you can't beat them, he thought, you might as well join them.


	9. Interrogation

Makepeace was proving hard to convince to turn against his associates, and General Hammond was getting quite discouraged with the results. If they'd had Jack, they could have had him infiltrate the organization. He would have been brilliant.

George gave a heavy sigh and sat back in his chair. It was always hard to lose someone under your command, but it was even harder to know that there might have been a possibility of saving them. And there was no worse feeling than thinking that your people were out there…somewhere…

He tried to think about what else he could do to help them, if they were still out there. He had tried contacting the Asgard, the Tok'ra, the Tollan, but they all had their own problems right now. All of a sudden, a bright light flooded his office. A little gray alien descended upon his office.

"General Hammond."

"Thor."

"Indeed."

"What can I do for you?" He asked as soon as he recovered from the shock of having an alien just appear in his office which was located in a top-secret facility. There wasn't supposed to be this kind of security breach.

"I understand that you have apprehended the pirate among your ranks."

Hammond flinched inwardly at Thor's choice of words. "Yes, that's right."

"However, we are still losing valuable assets. As are the Tok'ra and the Tollan."

"And what would you like us to do about it? We're questioning the man who has committed high crimes against your people and our government. However, it's proving to be a fruitless endeavor."

"We wish to question the perpetrator of these crimes ourselves, General."

"That's very…unorthodox."

"As is our journeying around the galaxy to find O'Neill and Major Carter."

"You haven't found them yet?"

"We have been unable to secure a ship as of yet with which to find them. Our battle with the Replicators is taking longer than we had first anticipated."

"And the Tok'ra lost one of their alkeshes to our spy. Jacob was irate when I talked to him last."

At the Asgard's puzzled look, George clarified. "Major Carter's father."

"I see."

"All right. When do you think you'll be available to question Colonel Makepeace?"

Suddenly, the Stargate began dialing to receive an incoming wormhole. "Unscheduled off-world activation!"

"That should be the members of the Tollan Council."

Sure enough, there was no iris code transmitted and the representatives walked through the iris resolutely.

The wormhole disengaged soon afterward, and almost immediately the Stargate dialed in again.

"Receiving the Tok'ra IDC, sir." Walter said before Thor was able to continue his commentary.

"Open the Iris!" Hammond commanded. This was going to be one hell of an interrogation.


	10. The Decision

Jack held her in his arms that night, grateful that she had been so forgiving. What did it matter what their previous life had restricted them to? They were probably never going back to Earth, and if they did, it would certainly never be to the same set of circumstances.

"Jack?" She asked.

"Hmm?"

She looked up into his eyes, fully awake, though he had thought her asleep.

"What are you doing awake?"

She smiled. "What are you doing thinking I'm asleep?"

He returned her tender smile.

"What is it?"

She sobered. "I've been thinking and I have a question for you."

"I'm not surprised."

She gently elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ow!"

"Quiet and let me finish."

"Okay."

She snuggled closer into his embrace. "Are you getting lonely?"

"Excuse me?"

"I don't mean sexually. I mean…over all, don't you think there is a general lack of population on this planet?"

He grew somewhat uncomfortable about the question, starting have some insight into what she had meant.

"Uh…I'm not…tired of it."

She bit her lip. "Oh."

"Why?"

She took a deep breath. It was inaudible, but Jack could feel her chest rise and fall. "Nothing."

"Sam, don't give me that."

She rolled over so that she could look Jack in the eyes. "Jack, I'm thirty-one years old."

Suddenly, he felt very old. "And?"

She hesitated. "These last few…brushes with death…well, they're making me very aware of my mortality."

He was silent, noiselessly prompting her to finish her thought. "Are you ever going to want to have kids? I mean…"

He swallowed. This was exactly what he had been afraid of. "Sam…"

"We can completely remove anything that you don't want them raised up around. There aren't really any ferocious beasts around, and certainly no human predators…I think our hand-to-hand would be fine…"

Jack grimaced. He wasn't sure he was ready to face that past. Then again, she was right. As much as he didn't want to admit it, they were both getting older, and if they didn't start trying soon, they would leave an empty planet at the death of one or the other of them. Suddenly, he was seized by another thought. There was just him and her. There would be no doctor, no midwife, and certainly no hospital. He would be the one to deliver whatever child was born, should they make that decision.

He hadn't even been at Charlie's birth.

But he decided to go with his original thought: to put his previous life behind them.

"Are you talking about…immediately?"

She smiled. "We can certainly start trying right now…I don't know if it would actually, happen immediately."

With that, she leaned in and gave him a kiss. "Please."

There was no way that he was going to be able to argue with that logic. She knew her way to his heart. He leaned in and kissed up and down the crook of her neck. From then on, he wordlessly showed her his answer.


	11. Intimidation

Makepeace sat in a holding cell, a smug look on his face. Here before him stood representatives from the Tollan, Tok'ra, and Asgard. He had helped to knock them down an arrogant peg or two. They no longer underestimated the Tau'ri and their determination; they had done what no other race would dare even conceive.

"General Hammond tells me that you are Colonel Randy Makepeace, formerly the new commander of this facility's flagship team, SG-1." Thor began.

"Yep, that's me."

"We must admit that while your record of leadership is impeccable, we are all of firm belief that your personal character leaves much to be desired." Councilor Travell, of the Tollan Curia, said.

"Yeah, well, you guys haven't exactly been willing to help us out."

"We were undergoing top-secret negotiations with your government when you interfered." One of the Tok'ra began, angrily.

"I am afraid, however, that termination of such negotiations will be the result of your actions." The other, less hot-headed Tok'ra, explained.

"And without our assistance, our technology will not do you any good!" The first said, interrupting.

"You underestimate our scientists." He said, smugly.

"And what scientists would these be?" General Hammond asked.

He stayed silent, sitting smugly before them.

"Son, these people want answers. And they're going to get them. Now, you can help them, winning yourself higher graces from the President of the United States, and myself, and thereby commuting your sentence to something less than the death penalty for high crimes against the government. Or you can continue to be stubborn, and wish you were sitting in the chair."

"Are you threatening me?"

None of the representatives answered. They simply stared at the Marine, unfailingly. "Come on, you guys, I know you guys won't retaliate!"

There was silence as the representatives all looked at one another.

"Right? You guys are all peace loving?"

General Hammond looked to the representatives. "I have a briefing. It looks like he's not going to talk. So do what you came to do. If you need me, I'll be in the conference room where we met earlier."

All of the delegates nodded as General Hammond left.

Then, they turned their attention back onto the somewhat trembling Makepeace.

"Well, you see…" He began.


	12. Morning Sickness

For the next few weeks, Sam and Jack enjoyed their new roles as "husband and wife." Now, while they weren't technically married by Earth's standards, there wasn't really a lot they could do about the logistics.

Sam discovered a few of the seeds that several of the women in the village had stored for future use. She got Jack to help her prepare a garden in the yard near the cottage that they had taken as their own, and she began planting the seeds, and carefully caring for the garden, as she would have cared for a child: having a very basic idea of what to do with her seeds, and really just trying to learn by trial and error.

Meanwhile, they kept trying to have their own child. Sam had learned as a young woman how to tie a quilt and some basic elements of sewing, so she tried her hand at practicing for the time when she would actually be preparing for the arrival of her firstborn. She grew more and more excited with each passing day, wondering if she was pregnant and if she wasn't, when she would be. However, while her excitement grew more and more intense, she was also more prone to being disappointed when her period came and rather brutally informed her that she was not pregnant.

On the other hand, as all of her emotions began to roller coaster, Jack calmly kept helping her around the house with her chores, and going off on short trips to go fishing. It had taken him and Sara a year and a half before they had gotten Charlie, and so, he wasn't going to let it really affect him. But in reality, he was scared stiff. He had known a little about parenting from his years with Charlie, but now, he was on a new planet, with a whole new set of circumstances, and it was just as good as starting off with afresh.

It had been nearly six months since their initial entrapment on Edora, and they had very nearly given up all thought of a rescue mission. So, they studied the particulars of the climate, weather, and survival that they would need for future years.

One morning, as the weather began getting a little colder in preparation for the planet's winter months, Jack awoke, not the appealing smell of coffee and sight of his beautiful wife, but to two arms around his waist, and the self-same wife, spooning up against him. Now, he didn't mind this at all, but…it just wasn't like Sam to sleep in past the time that the sun was up. He tried to move so as not to wake her, but he needn't have been so cautious. She was out, and not even one of the meteors that they had experienced six months before would have awoken her.

Jack decided to get out of bed and start fixing breakfast. Since it was just the two of them, they hadn't worried about the stigmas of each household chore, and often interchanged their responsibilities. Jack started the fire and put the coffee in the pot. Then, he reached for the bread that Sam had made the day before and began slicing it. Suddenly, an idea came to mind. He gathered a couple of the eggs he had gathered from the chicken-like creatures that had run around the cottage. They had noticed after a few weeks on the planet that the creatures that had populated the area around the town square had sensed the meteor shower and found ways to stay safe. So, every once in a while, Jack would kill one of the chickens and Sam would cook it for dinner. He reached for the milk that they had placed in the ice box that both he and Sam had constructed a few weeks prior. He gathered a bowl and a frying pan and he chuckled to himself. She would never see it coming.

He made French Toast, and as he did so, he noticed that Sam did not even stir. He placed the fare onto a plate and took it to the bed. He nudged her awake. "Sam?"

"Yeah?" She asked, sleepily.

"Breakfast." He said, briefly sending the plate toward her.

She propped herself up on her elbow, still casting the sleep from her mind. "French Toast?"

He smiled proudly. "Yep. Made it myself."

She laid back against the pillow, smiling drowsily. "Good for you."

"So, what's the plan today?"

She took a deep breath, as if by doing so, she was taking inventory of all the things that needed to be taken care of that day.

"Can we just spend the day together?" She asked, taking Jack by surprise. "I mean, you've never taken me fishing in the whole time that we've been here."

Jack considered her request. "Okay."

She smiled. "Great."

"But I don't have an extra pole."

"I don't actually have to fish. I just…I want to spend some time with you."

Jack gave a slight smile at the change in demeanor. One of the first signs that Sara had been pregnant was her change in sleeping habits and her almost sudden reluctance to let him leave. "Sam…how are things?"

She looked at him, and could catch his meaning by the twinkle in his eyes. She did some calculations, and looked at him with wide eyes. "I'm two weeks late."

Jack grinned while the reality of the possibility occurred to her. "I…I might be…"

Instantly, Jack was more somber. "Sam…let's not count our chickens before they hatch. I mean…this might just be a fluke."

She took a deep breath and nodded. But then, Jack smiled again. Most of the pregnant women that he had known had been unable to stand the smell of coffee a few weeks into their pregnancies. It had been too pungent a smell.

"Sam, would you like coffee with this?"

She nodded, sitting up in the bed and taking the plate from him. The cup of steaming coffee was placed in her hands, and she inhaled the aroma. "Thanks, Jack."

There was no reaction. Somehow, he felt let down. He didn't want to admit that he was just as excited about being a father again, as she was excited about being a first time mother, but…if he was perfectly honest, he was just as disappointed every time they realized that it would be at least another month before they were on their road to parenthood. "Well, the fish get up earlier than we do, so…get dressed. I'll get the stuff to go out to the boat."

She nodded, taking another few bites. When her stomach rolled a few times in disagreement, she told herself that it was just because she wanted to get pregnant so badly that she was experiencing a touch of morning sickness. She figured that after a few days, she would go back to feeling more like herself.

They went down to the creek where Jack got into the boat and helped her in. She sat and he rowed them down a little ways where they stopped in the middle of the larger pool. Almost immediately, they caught three fish, and Jack turned back to her. "Now…I'll tell you, this isn't normal for fishermen."

She chuckled. "Oh really?"

"Nope. Now, if we were in Minnesota, you would see that it takes a particularly skilled fisherman to catch fish in my lake."

She giggled. "There aren't any fish in your pond, are there?"

He looked up sharply. "What? No fish?"

"I'm right, aren't I?"

"Maybe." He said, an eyebrow raised in playfulness.

As they continued to banter, the boat started rocking a little more often. Suddenly, the churning in Sam's stomach was too much to handle, and she turned green.

"Sam? Are you okay?"

She leaned her head over the side of the boat and retched, holding her hair out of the way. It had grown quite a bit in the last six months, causing her hair to cascade down her neck and upper back in natural waves.

When she returned topside, Jack was prepared with a handkerchief. He offered it to her and she wiped her nose and mouth.

"Time to go back?"

She nodded.

He began to row back. "I think I'll wait to teach you how to clean fish until the next trip."

Her eyes widened and leaned her head over the side of the boat again. Jack shook his head. Way to go O'Neill, he thought.

"Sorry." He said, when she returned and wiped her mouth.

"You're fine. I just…I'm not usually so weak-stomached."

"I know." He said, trying to suppress the thought that perhaps his foolproof test wasn't as inaccurate as he had first anticipated.


	13. Jacob's Dilemma

Jacob walked into George Hammond's office. "Well, it looks like we might be getting that alkesh back."

"Hopefully all of the allies will get each piece of technology back in the same condition that Maybourne's people found it in."

Jacob nodded, sitting down.

"So, does this mean that you're going to go home by way of alkesh, swing by Edora on the way home, and be back before dinner?" George asked, unveiling the more relaxed part of his personality.

"If only. The Tok'ra have some operatives that they need to place in strategic lines across the galaxy. I hate to say it, but it will most likely be another six months before any of the Tok'ra are able to help them out."

"Jacob, we don't even know if they're still alive now. Let alone whether or not they'll be alive six months from now."

"I know that, George, but what do you want me to do? Steal the alkesh and show up on Edora just to launch another investigation? It's gonna have to be good enough to know that we have a timeline."

Hammond sighed. "I know, Jacob. And I'm sorry. I keep forgetting how much you have at stake with this. After this is your daughter whose life is on the line."

Jacob nodded. "Thank you."

"They've been in worse situations before. I'm sure they'll pull through. They do that pretty regularly."

Jacob nodded, thoughtfully.

"At least they're together."

Jacob gave a grin that only George could read as truth-laced teasing. "That's what I'm afraid of."


	14. Rescue

_Six months later:_

Jack put the ax into the chopping block as he raised his hands to his mouth and blew air onto them trying to ward off the chill in the air. Being somewhat unaccustomed to the planet and to relying solely on the wood-burning stove for heat, he had miscalculated the amount of wood they would need for the winter. Not to mention that there was almost no way to calculate the needs and wants of a pregnant woman.

Sam was a little more than six months pregnant according to their calculations, and she had taken to staying in the house all day, trying desperately to domesticate herself to the level of the women who had previously occupied these houses. Within a few weeks, she had created a new quilt for the bed, which they wrapped around themselves at night, and that cut back the draft that they felt in the one-room cottage they lived in quite a bit.

Jack smiled. It had been a good thing that she had made the quilt a little bigger than they would have needed. It made it easier to tuck around her expanding stomach, while still giving them the room that they needed.

"Jack!" She called as she walked toward him, draped in one of the oversized heavy shawls that she had found in one of the neighboring houses.

He turned as she reached him. "Hey! What are you doing out here?"

"It's going to be a blizzard tonight."

He laughed. "The animals tell you that?"

She grinned sheepishly. She had also learned to listen to the sounds of nature around her to indicate the weather conditions. So far, she had never been wrong.

She placed her arm in his as she huddled closer to him for warmth. "Come inside."

He looked at the meager pile of wood. "I'm almost done…" He protested, half-heartedly.

She coughed. "It'll be enough to get us through the storm." She said, confidently as she shivered, her hair being tossed about in the wind that had begun to pick up.

She let go of his arm as he bent down to pick up the logs. "Okay."

She wrapped the shawl tighter around herself, shivering as she did so.

"Go on inside. I'll be right back."

She looked at him. "I'd rather stay with you."

He shrugged. If Sam wanted to do something, she was going to do it, good, bad or ugly.

They walked together to the cottage, Sam's limp a little more pronounced because of the cold and the extra weight that she carried. She stumbled with another cough, and Jack instantly reached out a hand to keep her from falling. "Thank you." She said, clutching his arm as if it was her lifeline.

After ten minutes of walking against the wind, they reached their tiny oasis. As they walked over the threshold, Sam let out a racking cough that lasted for a good thirty seconds.

"Sam, you okay?" Jack asked.

She nodded, one hand over her mouth, standing still. Her head began pounding with the lack of oxygen. She breathed in deeply after her spell, tired from the added strain that the bout had induced, but unfortunately she inadvertently stimulated yet another cough.

Jack helped her to a chair. "You sure you're okay?"

She nodded. "It's nothing."

He raised an eyebrow. "That cough has been getting worse over the last few days, Sam."

She tried to breathe, but the tightness in her chest made it almost impossible. She took a few gasping breaths as Jack hurried to get the broth from the stew that she had been making. The steam helped to clear her airways for a little while.

"Thank you." She said, tightening the shawl around her as she thawed.

"How 'bout making it an early night, huh?" He asked, brushing a strand of her hair back from her face.

She nodded, too weak to argue. Only a half an hour later, he had her in bed, her body giving into its need for rest.

As he tucked the quilt around her, Jack couldn't help but have the fear that she would leave him alone on this planet creep up on him again.

--

When Jack awoke the next morning, he was lying on a damp pillow with his arms around his shaking wife. Sam was shivering with a high fever that disoriented her. She was asleep primarily, and for that Jack was grateful, knowing that she would need as much rest as she could get, but he was still worried.

He got up and went outside, getting some of the snow that had fallen from the night before and put it in a tub to melt. This way, they would have cool water, he thought, with which to try and coax her fever down.

He got a small handful of the snow and formed a snowball out of it. Then, he gently placed the ice-ball on her face, letting the ice melt against her hot skin.

"Oh." She moaned.

"I know, Sam. It's cold."

"Too cold." She said, shivering.

"I would rather give you antibiotics to bring your fever down and fight the infection, but without a rescue, I don't think that's going to happen." He said, lightly.

She swallowed and nodded, allowing her eyes to glide shut again. "Sleep." She informed him.

"I know. You get your rest. You're going to need it." He said, retucking the blankets around her. As she slowly drifted back to sleep, Jack woke her. "Sam!"

She awoke, startled. "I'm sorry, hon." He said, with an embarrassed smile on his face. "I know I promised you that I'd let you sleep because you need it…but I don't want you to sleep until I've said this."

She opened her eyes a little more. "What?"

"Don't you dare even think about dying on me." He said, still allowing the ice to travel around her fever-flushed face.

"Why? Do you love me or something?" She asked, smiling a tender, and somewhat absent smile at him.

"Actually, I'm just afraid you'd leave me all alone. And you know how I get without someone to talk to." He said, trying to lighten up the mood.

She grinned, her eyes closed as she began to slip back to sleep. "Besides…if you were ever to be rescued…that'd be a hell of a lot of paperwork."

He smiled. "You've been hanging around me too long." He said tenderly.

She didn't respond, and Jack realized that she had fallen back to sleep. He kissed her forehead. "Come on, Sam. We can get through this too. We have to get through this." He whispered.

--

Jacob looked at the readings coming from the scout ship's sensors. "It looks like we've found the Stargate."

Daniel came out of the cargo hold. "Really?"

"Well, I should probably clarify my statement. I'm receiving readings from the ship's sensors that there's a deposit of naquadah that has the right ratio and square footage that we're looking for to find the Stargate. It's probably buried. However, the bad news is that those are the only readings that we're receiving at this time."

"Then it is most likely that both O'Neill and Major Carter have perished." Teal'c said, realistically.

"Yeah," Jacob said as he prepared the craft to land. "But when have either Sam or Jack done anything that could be considered most likely?"

Teal'c nodded, conceding defeat.

They landed in the crater left by the meteor that hit the Stargate. Jacob reached for the Air Force standard-issue coat. "It's gonna be chilly. Better bundle up!"

His words were unnecessary as both Daniel and Teal'c were fully ready to brave the winter storm, each additionally armed with compasses and flashlights. "If they're still alive, they're probably in the village." Daniel said, taking the lead.

The more experienced warriors looked at one another. When they were unable to find fault with his logic, they followed wordlessly. Suddenly, Daniel stopped and picked something up.

"What is it, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.

"I'm not sure." He said, turning the thin piece of metal over in his hands. "I can't make it out in this blizzard, but I have a bad feeling that it's one of the chevrons from the Stargate."

"Hopefully, Sam and Jack can shed some light on the subject, huh?" Jacob said, pressing forward.

They reached the town square about an hour and a half later. As they got closer and closer to Sam and Jack's house, the soft glow of firelight was more and more pronounced. "Jack!" Daniel called. "Sam!"

In his enthusiasm, the archaeologist stumbled a few times trying to get to the door, Jacob and Teal'c following at a wiser, but similarly excited pace. When Daniel reached the door, he pounded on it loudly. "Jack! Sam!"

Still there was no answer.

"Come on you guys! OPEN THE DOOR!" Daniel shouted at the top of his lungs.

Suddenly, the door opened to reveal Jack, standing before them, perfectly healthy, but obviously sleepy. "Do you guys have ANY idea what time it is?"

"We'll review etiquette later, Jack." Jacob said, more than ready to go inside and hopefully find Sam alive and well. "Where's Sam?"

Jack opened the door a little more and stood behind it to welcome them in. The three men entered the cozy cottage.

"Jack?" Sam asked, her voice cracking in dehydration.

He closed the door and walked over to her. Her eyes were closed, but it was obvious that she was conscious. "Hey," he said, sitting on the bed. "Look what the cat dragged in."

"We have a cat?" She asked deliriously, swallowing.

"Jacob brought Teal'c and Daniel to see us."

"Rescue?" She asked.

"Looks like it."

"Wasn't…sure…just…dreaming…" She managed before she slipped back to sleep.

"I know." He said, taking the cold compress from her forehead. He soaked it in the ice-cold water in the basin and returned it to her forehead.

"So…ah…you two got to know each other well…" Daniel said, voicing the observations of all three.

"Huh?" Jack asked, standing up.

"You seem to have…" Jacob began, still reeling in shock at the sight of his pregnant daughter.

"What, Jacob? I seem to have what?" Jack asked, frustrated with the speechlessness of his colleagues.

"You seem to have consummated your relationship with Major Carter." Teal'c said, straightforwardly.

"That…that's it." Daniel said, quickly and nervously.

"What?" Jack asked, confused.

"My daughter is pregnant, Jack. It's pretty obvious that SOMETHING happened." Jacob said, recovering quickly.

Jack realized what they had been referring to and his eyebrows shot up, trying to explain it away, but finally he shrugged. "Well…took you guys long enough."

"We had a few…complications." Jacob said, walking over to the bed. "What's she got? Do you know?"

"I think she's either got pneumonia or bronchitis."

"Well, we brought extra medical supplies. Dr. Fraiser wanted to come in case you needed her, but General Hammond said he needed her at the SGC."

"The good news is that it is only a two-day journey back to Earth by alkesh." Teal'c said, cheerfully.

"And shorter than that if we fly to a closer planet with a Stargate. But until then, we have penicillin. Janet said it would take care of any bacterial infection."

Jack nodded. He reached for a glass and filled it with water. He took the tablets offered and sat on the bed by Sam again. "Hey, Sam…"

He touched her shoulder and she suddenly awoke. "Huh?" She asked, jerking forward.

"Hey, it's okay. Your dad's here."

She looked up and found Jacob looking at her tenderly. "Hey, Sam."

"Dad."

"So, you decided to settle down without your old man's approval."

She grinned, tiredly. "You got a problem with my man?"

Jacob looked at Jack, studying him. "Well, he's a little rough around the edges, that's for sure."

"But…" Jack prompted.

"Who said there was a but?" Daniel asked. "I've already told you that if I had a sister I wouldn't let you near her. That goes for Sam too."

Sam laughed as Jack gave Daniel a wounded look, however her laugh was turned into another painfully racking cough that lasted several seconds.

"Sam, baby, drink this." Jack said, setting the cup of cold water against her parched lips. She nodded, utterly exhausted by the bout.

He began to set the pills on her tongue when Selmak placed his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Maybe we can be of some more immediate assistance."

Jack moved as Jacob reached into his Tok'ra tote and pulled out his healing device. He stood over his daughter, registering the damage. He stopped the flow of energy as he completed his preliminary analysis. "Well, Jack, you were right. She does have pneumonia, but that's not the worst of it. At least that, I can fix."

Sam and Jack suddenly paled in fear.

"The bad news is that I can't take care of the injury on her leg. It's too old an injury. And with the way that it is now, I doubt she'll pass the physical requirements to be an Air Force field officer."

"But the baby's okay?" She asked after they processed the information.

Jacob looked startled. "Oh, yeah…the baby's great. Completely healthy."

They let out sighs of relief when Jack put his hand on Jacob's shoulder. "Do what you can."

Jacob nodded. He stood for several moments as the energy emitted by the hand device was absorbed by Sam's body. When he was finished, Sam's breathing deepened, and she fell to sleep. When Jack placed a concerned hand onto her forehead, he could already feel a decrease in her temperature.

"Thanks."

"Hey, what are fathers-in-law for?"

Jack grinned, sheepishly. "Well, now that we're going back to Earth…I'd like to ask your permission to marry your daughter."

Jacob smiled. "Like I could ever really refuse...you have my permission. More than that, you have my blessing."

Jack returned the smile. "Thanks…Dad."

Jacob raised an eyebrow. "Don't push it." He said as all of the guys laughed.


	15. Safe Return

A few days later, back at the SGC, Walter turned to General Hammond. "We're receiving an incoming wormhole, sir."

"IDC?"

"Yes, sir." Walter said a smile growing on his lips. "It's SG-1, sir. Jacob Carter, Teal'c, Daniel Jackson, Major Carter, and Colonel O'Neill."

George Hammond smiled. "Open the iris."

"Yes, sir!"

Sam, Jack, Jacob, Teal'c and Daniel walked through the Gate, met by a beaming General Hammond. "Welcome back, Major Carter. Colonel O'Neill."

"Good to be back, sir." Sam replied with a grin that rivaled his own.

"Me too."

General Hammond nodded. "We'll have an extra-long debrief after you go to the infirmary."

"And to think that I had almost never had to have a needle jammed in my butt…it boggles the mind." Jack said.

"What does?" Sam asked, as they walked to the infirmary, hand in hand.

"That I ever wanted to come back." Was his smart-aleck reply.

"Jacob?" George asked, watching the unorthodox way two of his officers were walking off to get their physicals.

"Let's just say that they're still honeymooning." Jacob said, an amused smile on his face.

"I almost didn't want to hear that." George replied.

"You can now appreciate how I reacted when I saw Sam." Jacob said, walking off toward the showers.


	16. Epilogue

_Three months later:_

Sam was working in the labs, running computer models on the energy output that they could expect from their new naquadah reactors. She was grateful that Jack, Janet and General Hammond had been fairly lax in their policy on maternity stand down. As long as she was getting plenty of food, rest, and exercise, they were happy. And, she tried to do just that. After all, Junior made it a little hard to focus solely on her work.

So, when her back started complaining, she didn't think anything about it. She simply retreated to the chair. However, after what felt like a few hours, the chair wasn't helping either. She got up and stretched. That felt good, she concluded. She looked at her watch and noticed that she'd only been working for about an hour since she'd opted for the chair. And this back pain wasn't constant either. It pulsed every few minutes.

Deep in the pit of her stomach, she had the sinking feeling that she was in the early stages of labor. She reached for the phone. "General Hammond? I'd like to take the rest of the day off." She said, calmly.

"Is everything okay, Doctor?"

"Yes, everything's fine. I'm just tired. And we did agree that starting last week, per Janet's orders, I was to work only as much as I wanted to."

"I believe her exact words were only a couple of hours a day."

She grinned. "Yeah. So, if you don't mind, I'm going to take myself off the roster for today."

"Of course."

"Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome. Take care of yourself."

"Yes, sir."

She hung up the phone and walked down the hall to Daniel's lab. He was studying some of the artifacts that SG-9 had brought back from their latest mission. "Hey, Daniel." She said, both hands on her back as another wave of pain flooded over her.

"Hey Sam." He said, barely looking up. "How're the naquadah models coming?"

"They're great." She said smiling. "It looks like they'll exceed our initial predictions for energy output. Thanks for asking."

"No problem."

"What are you working on?"

"Oh…just trying to cross-reference the artifacts that SG-9 brought back with some articles found on a dig in Egypt last year. It looks like they're really similar stuff."

"Great."

"Yeah." He said, still hunched over the relics.

"You want to be left alone." She said, perceptively.

"No, Sam…it's just…this is fascinating stuff!"

She nodded. "I know, Daniel. Enjoy your rocks."

As she left the room, she heard the archaeologist mutter: "They're artifacts. Not rocks."

She walked toward Teal'c's quarters. She found the Jaffa sitting and doing a session of kelnoreem. She swallowed. Knowing a part of what lay ahead, she could probably use the extra session of meditation. "Teal'c, mind if I join you for a little while?" She asked, knocking on the door.

He nodded to motion for her to sit down. She struggled to get into the correct position and let the scent of the candles relax her every muscle. Suddenly, a shooting pain caught her by surprise. Yep…this was probably labor.

She took some deep breaths, mentally timing each pain so that she could breathe with them instead of against them. She found herself relaxing into a rhythm. In this state of meditation, she was more able to listen to her body, and knowing what it was saying made her a lot less anxious about the uncharted territory ahead. It was a few hours later before she decided that she probably needed to get herself checked into the infirmary and to tell Jack that it was time.

"Thanks, Teal'c." She said, as she struggled to get up.

He helped her up. "You are welcome, Samantha Carter O'Neill. You seem to have more deeply understood the ritual of kelnoreem this day." He said, proudly.

That's because I had something physical to commune with, she thought to herself.

"Thanks, Teal'c."

He bowed as she left.

She walked toward Jack's office, but stopped. He never used his office, she remembered. She walked up to General Hammond's office and knocked on the door. "Sir?" She asked as he motioned for her to enter.

"I thought you were going home, Doctor." He said, puzzled.

She smiled. "I just asked for the day off. I've spent the day with Daniel and Teal'c and was wondering if you've seen my husband anywhere."

"I think he was running the training session with some of the new recruits from the Air Force Academy."

Her heart sank. "That was today, wasn't it?" She asked.

"Yes, but I can have him replaced for the next few days if you'd like."

She bit her lip. "I think that would be wise, sir." She said, evenly.

"All right. I'll have Major Mansfield take over."

She smiled. "Thank you. If you'll tell Jack that I'll be in our quarters, I'd appreciate it."

"Okay."

--

Two hours later, Sam was positive that she was in labor. Each contraction would hit about every five minutes, and as she laid on the queen-sized bed, she tried to continue her little mental exercises that had helped earlier. It was really just a matter of remembering to breathe and the timing of those breaths in relation with each contraction, and for some reason, it helped ease the pain a little.

Suddenly, the door opened and Jack walked into the room. "Sam…are you…?" He happened to catch her in the middle of a contraction, and he panicked.

"Let's go." He said, grabbing her little bag that had been packed by the door.

She took a deep breath. "Yeah. Just give me a minute to get off the bed."

He helped her and they walked down to the infirmary together. "Doc!" He called as they reached the doors of the infirmary.

Janet dropped everything and guided Sam to a cot. "How long have you been feeling contractions?"

She thought for a moment, trying to clear her head. "They started around 0900."

Janet looked at her watch. "It's 1940. What have you been doing all this time?"

"I worked on computer simulations for the naquadah reactors, saw Daniel, meditated with Teal'c…all in all…normal stuff."

Janet shook her head. She would never truly understand her friend. All she needed to know was that Sam had been in varying stages of labor for nearly eleven hours. "Okay, we've still got a little time, but let's double check to make sure.

--

Five hours later:

"Come on, Sam! Push! One more should do it." Janet said, with a look of determination on her face.

Sam, who was gripping the bedpost and Jack's arm like there was no tomorrow, pushed one more time when the cries of a healthy baby filled the isolation room.

Janet, who now had tiny tears of happiness slipping down her cheeks, lifted the baby up for the couple to see. "It's a girl."

Sam began crying and Jack kissed her forehead. "We have a little girl." He whispered closely to her ear.

She closed her eyes and put her hand on his cheek and gave him a little bit of an embrace. "I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too."

Within a few moments, Gracelyn "Grace" Thea O'Neill was placed in her mother's arms.

"So, a year on a deserted alien planet…worth it?" Daniel asked, walking into the isolation room alongside Teal'c, General Hammond, and Jacob.

"Wasn't such a bad year." Jack commented, leaving that to answer any questions that any of the others might have possibly had in their minds.

"A wish come true." Sam said with a smile.


End file.
